Can i go bankrupt?

Question

okay i'm thinking about going bankrupt because i owe some money to a few different things. my problem is i have 2 credit cards and i owe money to a bank and they have all gone to a collection agency. can i still go bankrupt? and if i can what do i need and how much money will it cost. i live in New Jersey if that matters. also i heard you have to be in a certain amount of dept to even qualify if that is true how much? thank you.

Answer 1

I'm not quite sure how much you have to be in debt, I think it would be 10,000 or more, but I'm not sure.  But, as they said below, you should check with a debt consolidation company first, and see if they can help you out of this situation.

Answer 2

I think you should consider that only after you have exhausted all other options.  Since they are all in collections, work to payoff each, but just one at a time.  Look to the smallest debt first and offer them half of the balance to settle in full.  If they refuse, tell them you will pay off a different debt first and get back to them later.  And please check out daveramsey.com - this will teach you the debt snowball and Total Money Makeover

Answer 3

Bankruptcy should be the last option. It may be the immediate solution but that can prove unsafe in the long run. It remains on your credit report for mare than 10 years and if the individual is listed as having filed for bankruptcy, it results in a 160-220 point deduction on their credit score and if a delinquent account is added to the individuals credit file, 70-120 points are subtracted. During the period of bankruptcy and after bankruptcy you would face difficulty in getting loan, purchasing and leasing and building your credit.

Thus paying off debts would not be an immediate solution but it will be beneficial in long rung. If you are not able to manage your debts on your own there are debt consolidation program out there provided by debt consolidation companies in which all your debts are consolidated into one and you have to pay only one payment each monthly to the consolidation company which they in turn distribute among your creditors. Thus you will be able to pay off your debt fast.

Here is the source of a debt consolidation company named http://ezconsolidation.com for your reference.

Answer 4

Whoa.  Slow down.

Contact Consumer Credit Counseling in your area.  They're nationwide.

They'll take over the management of your finances, and negotiate payment with the creditors for a very modest fee.  They are literally a godsend.  They saved me 25 years ago when I was in trouble.

Bankruptcy will hang onto your credit record for years.  It's the very last option.

Answer 5

An individual is able to file for "voluntary bankruptcy" since they are the debtor.

You should check out the Bankruptcy Code Title 11, Chapters 7 & 11 for specific information regarding what you need to do to claim bankruptcy (check the 1st link).

Have you considered consolidating the debt of the two credit cards into one payment? Usually you can one lower monthly payment if you do this. The best thing to do is to communicate -- often times, collection agencies assume you'll be uncooperative and hard to get hold of and get money from.

Good luck!